Compact heavy duty joystick from Penny + Giles

Part of the Curtis-Wright Controls group, Penny + Giles has introduced the a new heavy-duty electronic joystick controller JC8000, that encompasses a number of high-strength features to make it suitable for applications in physically demanding working conditions such as skid steer loader controls or where operators traditionally use hydraulic joysticks.

The increased strength has been achieved by increasing the body material around the area that supports the operating lever; increasing the operating lever's diameter; and changing the lever's pivot geometry. These fundamental changes have enabled the joystick to handle increased torque and improve the lever's bending and applied loads.

Designed for the most challenging applications, the JC8000 can withstand a 380Nm overload on the X and Y axes and 2000N on the vertical. It has also been tested to more than 60 million operations (15 million cycles) under laboratory conditions.

With an under-panel depth of 70mm, the JC8000 is compact for a heavy duty joystick it has a choice of digital or analogue outputs, including dual-redundant 12bit Hall effect, CANbus J1939 and digital PWM.

Vice president of Curtiss-Wright avionics and industrial group Kevin Rayment said, "The JC8000 is designed to survive in environments that are more physically demanding than the performance limitations of competitors' heavy-duty joystick controllers, and even our own JC1500 and JC6000 controllers."

Other notable features of the JC8000 joystick controller are single or dual axis control; IP69K sealing to the electronics; 5Vdc (regulated) or 8 to 54Vdc (unregulated) supply; dual-channel analogue output on each axis with optional ramp directions; a range of eight handle/grip options; and an operating temperature range from -40°C to +70°C.